Welcome to The Teachers' Lounge! We invite you to warm up with a cup of tea and some good conversation. Join us as we explore topics in early childhood, discuss challenges facing parents and educators of young children and share new activities!

Greetings, I’m Barbara Riffert Glick, a member of the Inside Sales Team at Discount School Supply. Spring is here and I have begun thinking about children riding trikes. It is never too early to start teaching them about trike safety and wearing helmets.

It’s important to get kids into the “helmet habit” early because medical research shows that a helmets can dramatically reduce head injuries. If we start the helmet habit when little ones ride trikes , it will make it easier to keep the helmets part of the riding habit when they transition to bikes later. If you are a teacher, please enlist the support of the parents to use helmets at home as well. If you are reading this as a parent, speak to your child’s teacher or school director about the use of helmets when the little ones are on trikes at their program.

The helmet should be designed for the age level. Toddler helmets cover more of the head than preschool helmet since the little ones need additional protection for side and backward falls. The helmet should sit level on the child’s head and should be securely fastened. They don’t work as designed when they are at jaunty angle. The Angeles helmets, HLMTB and HLMTR, that Discount School Supply sells, meet or exceed ANSI Z90.4, CPSC and Snell B95A standards. You can see the helmets in the Discount School Supply catalog or on line at Discount School Supply.

Please contact me with your experience with helmets and riding safety. I would enjoy hearing from you. Start the helmet habit early!